BEACHES in the North-west which were today slammed as a "national disgrace" will soon be cleaned up, North West Water has pledged

The water giant claims that significantly cleaner water will be found at bathing beaches along the North-west coast as new waste water treatment facilities become operational this year, as part of the company's £500 million Sea Change programme.

All but one of the projects forming the massive programme will be in operation this summer.

"This marks a major milestone in the drive to end a problem that has affected many of our coastal communities for nearly a century," said project manager Shanti Rasaratnam.

"NWW's Sea Change programme is one of the largest and most important environmental programmes in Europe. It will make a significant contribution to cleaner bathing water along the north west coast. But it must be remembered that waste water discharges are not responsible for all beach and sea pollution. The provision of totally clean beaches is dependent on the whole community and people who use them must also be encouraged to make an active contribution to cleaning our coastline," said Mr Rasaratnam.

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